15 Perfect Recipes for Penne Pasta

Wondering what to do with all those boxes of penne pasta in your pantry? Don't settle for pasta and tomato sauce: These 15 recipes use penne for the base but become so much more with simple, flavorful ingredient additions. Toss in a protein like chicken, sausage, salmon, or even flank steak. And you can never go wrong with fresh vegetables — escarole, eggplant, asparagus, broccoli rabe — and a rich cheese, like gorgonzola or mascarpone. Use some of these penne pasta recipes as inspiration for your own creations!For more pasta perfection, try some of our 10 best chicken pasta recipes or throw some of these meatball recipes into your favorite pasta dish.

The tomato sauce here — with big pieces of flaked swordfish and slivers of jalapeño — gets nicely absorbed by the penne. And judge Michael Schlow of the Best Pasta Poll on FoodandWine.com adds, "There's a good proportion of tomatoes and fish to pasta, and it all comes together so well."

Radicchio is a brawlingly bitter green that becomes impossibly meek and mild when simmered. Paired with some cheese and the meat from a rotisserie chicken, it cooks up quickly into a memorable pasta dish.

Unlike some pasta salads, this one is best served at room temperature. Don't refrigerate it, or the penne will get gummy and unpleasant. We've peeled the eggplant here, but if you like the texture of eggplant skin, leave it on.

A traditional puttanesca gets complex, savory flavor from olives, capers, tomatoes, and anchovies (which essentially melt into the sauce). This version omits the anchovies in favor of salmon, which stays firm and makes for a heartier dish.